Most top graduate programs in English
grant two degrees, an MA and a Ph.D.Typically MA programs require 2 years of study; Ph.D. programs require at least 4 additional years of study,
though the average Ph.D. takes between 6-7 years.Should you choose to pursue a Ph.D., you should plan to spend at
least 6 years studying beyond the undergraduate degree (several programs do not
offer an MA; instead, they offer a 5-year Ph.D. [know that such programs are
rare and that students rarely succeed in finishing in 5 years]).I recommend pursuing the MA and following it
up with the Ph.D.

The MA degree typically requires the
following: 1) completion of an introduction to graduate study/research course;
2) completion of approximately 10 additional, graduate-level courses; 3) a
comprehensive examination or research thesis.

Ph.D. course requirements vary from
institution to institution, but your plan of study will frequently consist of
the following requirements:

A)One to two years of additional course work.

B)Mastery of at least one foreign language

C)Completion of Comprehensive Examinations (usually 3 to 6 days
of 3-6-hour long tests)

D)Completion of the Dissertation Proposal

E)Oral Defense of the Dissertation Proposal

F)Completion of the Dissertation (an approximately 300-page
contribution to English literary theory/history/criticism).

G)Oral Defense of the Dissertation

H)Revision and Submission of the Dissertation

Graduate study in English is more than a full-time job.You will be working in a highly competitive
environment, surrounded by equally smart and ambitious classmates.You will be expected to analyze literature
through various historical, theoretical, and literary critical
perspectives.You should not go to graduate school because you like to read.On the other hand, you must love to read if you plan to go to graduate school; if you
find yourself skipping reading assignments in college, do not go to graduate
school.

2. How Will I Pay for
Graduate School?

Most top programs award candidates Teaching
Assistantships.In return for teaching
a course or two per semester, your tuition costs will be covered, and you will
be paid a stipend of approximately $15,000-20,000 per year.Ideally, you will attend a program that
requires only 1 teaching course per semester and makes available additional
summer teaching opportunities.You
should plan to spend about 20 hours per course, per week, preparing, grading,
etc.

Many programs offer top candidates additional funding in the
form of Fellowships (money that does not require teaching in return), computer
money, travel money, or time off from teaching.

You should not enroll
in a graduate program unless you are awarded either an assistantship or a
fellowship.Faculty salaries are
not great.Without funding, it will
take you decades before you will be able to repay your loans.

3. How Hard is it to Get In?

Very hard.Top
programs receive hundreds of applications and have room for about 10-20
incoming students.

4. What will my Application
Consist Of?

A)An application form—provided by the university—which will ask
for proof of the following credentials:

1.A top-notch GPA.I
wouldn’t think of applying unless you have better than a 3.5 GPA.You should aim to have a minimum 3.7 GPA
(personally, I generally am not
interested in students with a GPA under 3.7, though there are some exceptions).

2.Top-notch GRE scores.For the Verbal, you should aim to be in the 90th
percentile.For written, you should aim
to be in the 90th percentile.Math really does not matter.The
subject test is required by many programs (to prepare, I recommend the British
and American Norton Anthologies, the Bible, and a solid grounding in Classical
literature).

B)3 strong letters of recommendation.Do not ask a professor unless you received an “A” in the
course.Only ask a professor you
believe will write you a very strong letter.Provide him/her with detailed information about your interests, plans,
GPA, work experience, community service, etc.Also provide a copy of your best paper from his/her class.

C)A strong 15-20 pp. writing sample.If you have completed an honors thesis, send a condensed
version.If you are applying with a
particular emphasis in mind (Renaissance studies, feminism, or Theory, for
example), send a relevant sample.

D)A 2 pp. personal statement.Should personalize what is an otherwise completely impersonal
application.Lay out your plans, your
reasons for wishing to go to grad school, and your reasons for applying to this
particular school.Avoid the “I have
always loved reading” story.

D)By November 1, provide professors with a folder including the
following:

1.The information about you and your credentials (discussed
above).

2.Appropriate forms and envelopes.

3.A clear timetable that tells the professors the deadline for
their completion of the letters.

E)By, January 1, mail all applications.

F)By April 15 (MLA deadline), choose your
school.

6. Where do I Apply?

The answer to this question will depend largely on what you
wish to study once you get to grad school.Unlike undergraduate program rankings, graduate program rankings are
often unpredictable and surprising because the quality of a particular program
may depend on the presence of one or two faculty members.For example, although the University of
Illinois is not necessarily a better university than Northwestern University,
Illinois has a far superior Renaissance Studies program.Your decision about which schools to send
applications to should depend on the following:

A)Which schools do your professors recommend for your area of
interest?

B)Which schools offer the best funding?

C)Which schools offer the best teaching experience?

D)Which schools offer the most reasonable teaching load?

E)Which schools offer the most courses in your likely area of
study?

F)Which schools have the best job placement rates?What sort of placements are these?

G)Which schools offer the sort of campus environment/location
you can live in for at least six years of your life?

H)Which schools offer the best health care/child care benefits?

I)Which schools do your gut instincts lead you to?

Obviously you may have certain geographical preferences that
will dictate where you apply.The best
policy, though, would be to apply to the best and most appropriate
institutions, as opposed to the ones that happen to be closest to home.You should bookmark http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/english/links/engdpts.html,
which will make your research much more efficient.

7. What will I do After Grad
School?

With an English MA, you can teach at a number of
institutions, including some community colleges.You might also be employed as an editor, technical writing
specialist, or school administrator.

The only purpose of
getting a Ph.D. is to become a faculty member at a university or college.About halfway through your graduate career,
you should try to determine which type of setting would suit you best.Would you prefer to teach in a small college
atmosphere (such as Connecticut College), where you will teach more and be
expected to research less?Would you
rather teach at a Research 1 university (such as the University of Connecticut),
where you will be expected to perform a great deal of research and teach fewer
courses?Or would you prefer something
in between?Obviously your success as a
grad student will dictate your ability to choose
a certain type of university.The
academic job market, you should be aware, is brutally competitive: there are
approximately 200 candidates per literature job in the USA.In order to ensure that you are a solid
contender for one of these positions, you will need to focus, while you are a
graduate student, on the following tasks:

A)Increasing your knowledge of world literature and especially
of the literature (primary and secondary) most relevant to your field.

A successful academic career is defined by one’s ability to
succeed in three particular areas: service, teaching, and research.You must be able to show hiring committees
that you have experience balancing these demands (the average tenure candidate
at a Research 1 university must, in 5 years or so, write and publish a book,
publish multiple articles, conference regularly, serve on several committees
each year, and plan and teach at least 4 courses each year).

Obviously, it is not easy to earn a Ph.D.Nor is it easy to balance the demands of an
academic life (figure an average of 60 work hours minimum per week).On the
other hand, few careers offer the challenges, pleasures, and personal rewards
that teaching at a university can offer.You should go to graduate school because you are completely obsessed with literature and believe it
is the most important thing you can pass on to other generations.But you should also know how serious a
commitment you are about to make.